The Mysterious Cities of Gold

The year is 1532. In Barcelona lives 12-year old Esteban, an orphan boy who has been raised by Father Rodriguez, the Dean of the Cathedral. No-one really knows where Esteban comes from, but he has a strange and wonderful power.

The Esperanza sets sail on its long voyage to the New World amid much celebration. Esteban and Zia make friends, discovering that they wear identical medallions.

As the Esperanza draws closer to the Straits of Magellan, Mendoza is calm and confident. He spends four days and nights at the wheel without sleep and successfully guides the ship through without event.

The Esperanza is in the grip of a tornado. As the crew tie themselves down and Captain Perez himself takes the wheel, Mendoza goes below deck to retrieve Esteban and Zia, who are still prisoners in a cage in the hold.

To their great relief, Esteban, Zia, Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho have landed on an island in the Galapagos. It seems uninhabited - they find only find giant animals, one of which they manage to catch.

Tao, now very hospitable to his new friends, shows them his giant tree house. He tells them that he is the descendant of the people of Heva, a race of high civilization whose empire was destroyed by a terrible disaster.

As the Solaris sails away from the Galapagos, Tao bids farewell to the island that he will never see again. Everyone inspects the ship from tip to bottom, while Tao carefully studies a book he hopes will reveal how to operate the ship.

The Solaris and its crew shelter in a bay for the night, but at dawn they are captured by Spanish soldiers and taken to a fortress.

Esteban and his friends have hardly left the bay when they meet the Saint Miguel, a Spanish warship under the command of Gomez and Gaspard, which begins to fire at them.

Tao is overcome by the loss of the Solaris. The friends decide to head to Zia's village. But in order to get there, they will have to go back to the fortress, where Pizarro and his soldiers are stationed.

Esteban, Zia and Tao walk through the mountains, in the direction of Zia's village. But they are being followed by two men, both of whom are strangely dressed.

Esteban, Tao and Zia, led by Vaina and Ketcha, are heading towards the Old Peak when they realize that they are being followed by Gomez and Gaspard, now accompanied by Mendoza, Sancho and Pedro.

No one in Macchu Picchu knows where the City of Gold is, except perhaps Mayucca, a wise old man whom the children set off to find.

With Tao's conclusions and calculations, the friends now know where the City of Gold is, but first they have to get the other half of Esteban's medallion from Mendoza.

Esteban and his friends are trapped along with Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho in the Fort of the Black Eagle, which is now surrounded by Gomez's men.

Back at the Old Peak - Macchu Picchu - Esteban, Zia and Tao find Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho with Chief Kraka. Offering to guide them, the three Spaniards set off with the children to find the Cities of Gold.

Heading for the mountains of Pacha Mama, Esteban and his friends again come across Kuruga who has now been wounded. He has been abandoned by his people because he failed in his attack on Lana's village.

Having fallen asleep beside the golden condor, Esteban and his friends are awoken by an earthquake.

Esteban and his friends are airborne in the golden condor. While they have no idea how to pilot it, they eventually realize that it is following the course of the sun.

Esteban and his friends fly towards the Old Peak - Macchu Picchu - where they hope to tell Kraka everything that has happened to them.

The golden condor flies over the Amazon forest. Esteban flies low so that they can all admire the river - but suddenly the sky is covered with cloud that hides the sun.

In the Queen's palace, the friends are well looked after. However, the Priestess Omoro remains very hostile and tries to persuade the Queen that they must now sacrifice Morka, one of her own servants.

The golden condor flies over the sea towards the land of the Mayas. Suddenly losing height, the bird flies down to the ground and into an immense cavern.

Tao returns to the underground chamber to investigate the jade mask. Looking into the eyes of the mask, he sees inscriptions that he can read.

Esteban, Zia and Tao find a lake with what appears to be a gold lining at the bottom. They investigate but are captured by a group of Indians, led by the Doctor and Marinche.

Under a burning sun, Esteban and his friends cross the plain of the land of the Mayas. They are looking for the Swamp of the Rain God, as mentioned in the manuscript.

The friends are venturing through a windy gap in some enormous cliffs, when a large rock falls from on high, narrowly missing Mendoza.

On their way to the forest of stone statues, they spot the Doctor and Marinche in the company of Teteola, who is now free.

Heading through the jungle, Esteban and his friends spot the mountain they are looking for and suddenly Tao's jar begins to glow.

Back in the Olmec base, the friends learn that their crystal tower combines natural heat and light and produces energy.

Fleeing, the friends are soon surrounded again - but a shower of arrows attacks the Olmecs, who scatter.

The Olmecs head for Wynacocha's village to attack it. The children become separated from Mendoza, Pedro and Sancho in their flight, and in the jungle they come across Gaspard and Gomez, whom they believed were dead.

The golden condor lands in the village. A crowd has gathered around the injured Papacamayo and Mendoza tells the children what has happened. Recognizing her father, Zia falls into his arms and the two are reunited.

At dawn, the Mayas attack the Olmecs. And in the village, Tao and Esteban prepare the golden condor to join the battle.

Esteban, Zia and Tao are waiting outside the base when Gaspard and Gomez take them by surprise and again demand to be taken to the Cities of Gold.

As the Olmec flying machine rises into the air from the depths of the Burning Shield, the Mayan soldiers flee, terrified.

Mendoza is reunited with Pedro and Sancho. He explains how he spotted an island in middle of the lake at the exact spot indicated by Papacamayo as the site of the City of Gold.

Menator orders the Olmec flying machine to break up into smaller craft, and one segment destroys the outer gate of the City of Gold.

Menator and Kalmec return to their base and place the great treasure from the City of Gold inside a solar reactor.